Broadband access for more than 23 million rural Americans is lousy. Microsoft says it wants to change that. The tech giant calls it an effort to serve communities who feel left behind. But what’s behind this latest push? Politics or economics? Joining us to discuss it are Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Jennifer Levitz, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Matt Larsen, founder and CEO of Vistabeam, a rural internet service provider. Today, we also discussed a little-known story from World War I, when U.S. General John Pershing recruited more than 200 women for a dangerous and crucial assignment. They were sent through submarine-infested waters to the front lines and placed in charge of one of the U.S. military’s most effective tools — the telephone. We talk to Elizabeth Cobbs, author of “The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers.” Find that story and all our shows at the1a.org